Data & Source

The data used for this project come from the KIDS COUNT Study, which is conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (https://datacenter.kidscount.org/). Data is collected at both the national level and the state level within the US. The KIDS COUNT project contains data related to a number of different aspects of child development and well-being, including education, health, risky behavior, and family/community relationships.

For the specific research questions I’m interested in looking at, achievement data are available for fourth and eighth graders. Data were collected every two years, from 2003-2022 (data were released in 2022 instead of 2021). Data are available per state, and nationally. Achievement data are represented using 4 categories (below basic, at or above basic, below proficient, at or above proficient). The proficient category builds on the basic category, so below basic and at or above basic add up to 100% of students, and below proficient and at or above proficient add up to 100% of students.

The data are available through a data portal, located at https://datacenter.kidscount.org/. The data are openly available, and don’t require registration to be accessed.

Research Questions

Question 1 How has educational achievement in math and science changed over time?

Question 2 How does educational achievement in math and science differ across states?

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Question 3

  1. How has funding for education changed over time?

  2. How does funding differ between states?

  3. How have changes in funding differed between states?

Question 4 How does funding track with educational achievement in math and science?